The motorcycle community....

dennisdarrow · Jul 30, 2019

So today with $40,000 tractors from JOHN DEERE at 0% interest for 8 years, mortgage interest rates setting record lows, employment rates setting record lows with minorities, and best of all...….
Mules bringing record high prices at auction sales...…. :dance

Makes one wonder if we are living in the best of times. Perhaps us aging guys have learned to get adventure here closer to home with our horse trailers instead of out on the road on two wheels 3K miles from home...….. :banghead

36654 · Jul 30, 2019

DennisDarrow said:
So today with $40,000 tractors from JOHN DEERE at 0% interest for 8 years, mortgage interest rates setting record lows, employment rates setting record lows with minorities, and best of all...….
Mules bringing record high prices at auction sales...….

Makes one wonder if we are living in the best of times. Perhaps us aging guys have learned to get adventure here closer to home with our horse trailers instead of out on the road on two wheels 3K miles from home...…..

$40K isn't much of a tractor. That's only 50 or 60-hp without a cab.

dennisdarrow · Jul 30, 2019

36654 said:
$40K isn't much of a tractor. That's only 50 or 60-hp without a cab.

Yes, that is for sure....lol....a guy would be lucky to take care of a mower with that little thing.....Oh my, one might also get hot without the AC keeping the sweat from boiling...…..No not much of a work horse at all.....yours is??

crucian · Jul 30, 2019

scqtt said:
Still difficult to find BMW shop shirts on a regular basis.

Victoria Secret and a Magic Marker

crucian · Jul 30, 2019

36654 said:
Let me put it this way...............in 1998 MC sales were a bit lower than today. But, the economy was good and the budget deficit was nil. In 2007, MC sales were 2~3x the 1998 levels, the economy was riding a soon to collapse housing debt bubble and the federal budget was in deficit.

Bless your concerns but respectfully, why should I care? My relationship with a motorcycle is between my ass, hands and brain. What you or anyone else does/thinks, you own and is not relevant to me, or others.

36654 · Jul 30, 2019

DennisDarrow said:
.....yours is??

Let me ask the farmer that rents my acreage. After WW-II, my father found that he had more money in his pocket if he did what he was good at (i.e., Tool & Die Maker) and rented acreage to a successful farmer like my Mother's cousin. Taxes are paid, land is kept in good shape and the farmer can make a profit. Oh, the neighbors like having farm fields next door, instead of double wides.

crucian · Jul 30, 2019

36654 said:
Poodle country? Surely, you jest. The horsey set prefers something more sporting.

My point exactly. The "motorcycle rider" set prefers something more connected to the exposure of wind in the face, the smell of fresh cut grass, pine sap, large raindrops striking the face shield and an affordable dive motel or tent, at the end of along day in the saddle.

dennisdarrow · Jul 30, 2019

36654 said:
$40K isn't much of a tractor. That's only 50 or 60-hp without a cab.

With all due respect, it seems to me though, you know nothing about what you are talking about...….For sure, running your mouth for what??? Do I belittle you for your Stihl? Is your DeWalt and SawStop adequate for what you do? Does your Tacoma have the horsepower to pull a 29' RV up an 18 degree slope? Can it carry 2 6' round bales in it's bed???.....Arguing? Thread count???... :banghead

This is one reason I have taken a LONNNG vacation from this outfit and perhaps why others actually get tired of this stuff and leave...…..

Anyway.....Was working down my woods next to HWY 136 all morning. Once, not long ago, I saw a bike perhaps every 5 or 10 minutes....NOW???……..Nothing all morning. :dunno

It just seems as if motorsickles are totally diminishing in numbers. One good thing: When I do see bikes, perhaps 30 or 40 percent are BMWs...….lol......NOBODY but BMW folks do the ATGATT thing and that is what I see a lot of.....That and that wonderful sewing machine sound...……...

36654 · Jul 31, 2019

DennisDarrow said:
With all due respect, it seems to me though, you know nothing about what you are talking about...….For sure, running your mouth for what??? Do I belittle you for your Stihl? Is your DeWalt and SawStop adequate for what you do? Does your Tacoma have the horsepower to pull a 29' RV up an 18 degree slope? Can it carry 2 6' round bales in it's bed???.....Arguing? Thread count???...

This is one reason I have taken a LONNNG vacation from this outfit and perhaps why others actually get tired of this stuff and leave...…..

Anyway.....Was working down my woods next to HWY 136 all morning. Once, not long ago, I saw a bike perhaps every 5 or 10 minutes....NOW???……..Nothing all morning. It just seems as if motorsickles are totally diminishing in numbers. One good thing: When I do see bikes, perhaps 30 or 40 percent are BMWs...….lol......NOBODY but BMW folks do the ATGATT thing and that is what I see a lot of.....That and that wonderful sewing machine sound...……...

Dennis,

Way back in the early 1980's, 82 or 83 specifically, 50-HP was the size cut-off for profitable production of tractors within the US. $40,000 is a big number and it buys a tractor made in Prune, India.

rwl1955 · Jul 31, 2019

The title of the post is the shrinking motorcycle community. Pointing out the fact that one political party/ideology is openly calling for the end of the internal combustion engine/ fossil fuels is relevant to the discussion because it will be a major factor down the road. Dan Neil of the WSJ(Wall Street Journal) wrote a great review of the new Harley electric bike recently, $30.000 and a range of less than 150 mi. He's not a fan of Harley's but he enjoyed riding the bike. We'll see!
Also according to an article on Revzilla(I think) another factor is the inability of youts to master a manual transmission. Very few people can drive a stick these days which prevents them from even considering buying a motorcycle.

Omega Man · Jul 31, 2019

Youts Vinny :rofl

OM

52184 · Jul 31, 2019

rwl1955 said:
The title of the post is the shrinking motorcycle community. Pointing out the fact that one political party/ideology is openly calling for the end of the internal combustion engine/ fossil fuels is relevant to the discussion because it will be a major factor down the road.

That’s as much a mischaracterization as to say that one party is only interested in the interests of the fossil fuel industry. Any political inputs to the discussion are pointless and useless when they only parrot sound bites from either of the extremist ends of the political spectrum. More nuanced inputs do have the potential to add to the discussion.

Also according to an article on Revzilla(I think) another factor is the inability of youts to master a manual transmission. Very few people can drive a stick these days which prevents them from even considering buying a motorcycle.

That’s a nil factor in my book, one partially rooted in the millennial bashing that seems common today. I’ve watched many a student and new rider progress from never having driven a stick shift, or ridden any two-wheeler other than a bicycle, to a competent beginning motorcyclist at the end of their training class. Stick shift skills are highly overrated as far as impact on new rider recruitment and development. Cost factors and competition from other recreational pursuits are bigger factors and should get first, and most, attention.

IMHO, of course.

Best,
DeVern

scqtt · Jul 31, 2019

GTRider said:
I’ve watched many a student and new rider progress from never having driven a stick shift, or ridden any two-wheeler other than a bicycle, to a competent beginning motorcyclist at the end of their training class.

Go talk to sales people in a large dealership, manual transmissions are a limiting factor. You see new students, ones that have accepted the challenge of learning a new skill. Go ask a person on the street if they would feel comfortable operating a machine that required both of your hands and both of your feet to be simultaneously involved in different activities, oh yeah, and when you stop you have to get a foot on the ground. Their eyes glaze over. People want to be less engaged, we know this. perhaps not all, but a growing number. We will see more automation in gear selection in the future. Or, as in the case of the aforementioned Livewire, no transmission at all.

71243 · Jul 31, 2019

scqtt said:
Go talk to sales people in a large dealership, manual transmissions are a limiting factor. You see new students, ones that have accepted the challenge of learning a new skill. Go ask a person on the street if they would feel comfortable operating a machine that required both of your hands and both of your feet to be simultaneously involved in different activities, oh yeah, and when you stop you have to get a foot on the ground. Their eyes glaze over. People want to be less engaged, we know this. perhaps not all, but a growing number. We will see more automation in gear selection in the future. Or, as in the case of the aforementioned Livewire, no transmission at all.

Isn't the new G/Wing offered with an automatic transmission/semi automatic transmission ? There's a market reason for it or they would not have invested the money in developing it.

Hell look at pickups....we've become so damn lazy / disconnected, that we can't even open a tailgate ! A key-fob does it for us :scratch

36654 · Jul 31, 2019

If the MC world is so bad today, how did we survive the 1990's when the per capita MC sales were similar??

pglaves · Jul 31, 2019

The motorcycle industry will ebb and flow, Some dealers will excel and others will decline. There are a multitude of factors that will dictate who crosses a dealer's door.

Guess what. I don't care. When folks are overloaded with high housing costs outside of daddy's basement, student loan debt is stupid high, and the cost of housing even is ridiculous at miserly interest rates: (Insanity notes: My first home mortgage was at 11% and my second home mortgage was 14%), folks balking at $20K bikes is to be expected. In today' market motorcycles are toys. Food and shelter are necessities.

We will overcome the current lunacy and soon be back to normal. I hope.

EUGENE · Jul 31, 2019

Right on, I don't care either. The world will always change.

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